Education in the inner city


Valerie Kirschenbaum, a teacher in Bronx, provides yet more testimony of the essential dysfunctionality of the American education system. Consider this sample:

"To capitulate to the students, to give them a passing grade because we fear for our safety, is an outrage," writes Krischenbaum, in her book, Goodbye Gutenberg. "Indeed, the integrity of the entire teaching profession is at stake if we cannot fail our students without fear. We must have authority — and the protection — to fail those who deserve to fail. Failing is a constructive way of offering the students a chance to self-correct. It is also a way of preventing these students from interfering with the education of those who want to learn."

And Ms. Krischenbaum concludes: "Many fine teachers have already quit. And many more tell me that they are going to quit soon. Some administrators have publicly blamed the teachers for our problems, but they themselves have little or no classroom experience. Teachers arrive at school every day with an inherited set of problems. The students bear the rubbish of broken families, drug abuse, crime, obesity, parental neglect, and lack of role models. Spineless bureaucrats who hide behind the safety and comfort of a desk, who never spend a minute in the classroom (other than to critique the teachers), simply have no credibility." [365-366]

Perhaps this belabors the obvious a bit, but its good to hear it from an actual teacher.

Posted: Sun - January 16, 2005 at 03:41 AM          

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